"All these seeds we are planting now, and the federal government's doing it under the auspices of trying to save money, but it really is fool's gold what they're saving because the World Health Organization shows us that for every dollar a government spends on a child, they can expect to save up to $20 downstream in not having to pay for addiction services, mental health services, hospitals, prisons, those kind of things."

We know the best approaches to improve Canadian health are those that address the root causes — preventing, instead of treating — but we still get caught up focusing on behaviour, and 'magical thinking'. Let's break out of the trinity trap.

In some ways, public health is like that annoying kid who is always asking: “Why?” Why did this person become sick? Why did they die? It’s a bit like peeling an onion — there is always another layer to the story, another reason why.